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Burial Beer Co. A Modern Ballard of Self-Discovery

Posted on by Evan

A Modern Ballad of Self-Discovery, a New England IPA I took to a bottle share in Austin, Texas, was a hit there. This Burial Beer Co. (https://burialbeer.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqJOrM9CbYCxpAdNizGO9TiC4ofYyJeIzBK9laNMvKWXqztqEa9) beer is double-dry hopped with Victorian Galaxy, Netron, and Eclipse hops. This beer I found and purchased from Total Wine (https://www.totalwine.com/?gclsrc=aw.ds&&pid=cpc:Brand%2BUS%2BNCAR%2BENG%2BSPART%2BEXT::google::&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=114788005&gclid=CjwKCAjwwqfABhBcEiwAZJjC3pEgvYBUmcUpSoO-xncFI8FFgvznSB1X-jAU5XvMpDZwNswPSTGebxoCIjEQAvD_BwE). This IPA pours a hazy yellow with a two-finger white head. It has a light cloudiness to it. The aroma is fruity with orange and some grapefruit. It is bittersweet and layered. The aroma has some depth to it. The flavor is Creamy, fruity with oranges, and has a nice amount of bitterness. This has a medium feel in the mouth. This beer has a hoppy and bitter fruity finish. The aftertaste is slightly less bitter with less pungent fruit flavors and a nice creamy texture. A Modern Ballad of Self-Discovery is a good beer that I give an A+. You don’t want to miss A Modern Ballad of Self-Discovery. I recommend it! It has great creamy fruity bitter flavors that all complement each other, so well, and come together into a fabulous IPA. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Brouwerji Van Steenberg De Garre Belgian Ale

Posted on by Evan

I have been looking for this beer for nearly a year since I originally had it a year ago, in Belgium. This is De Garre Belgian from Brouwerij Van Steenberg. This trippel, 11% ABV, is the house beer for De Garre pub in Bruges, Belgium. Van Steenberg uses a traditional Belgian Trippel base with three times the amount of malt to achieve the 11% ABV. I recently found this beer at Spec’s in Austin, Texas (https://specsonline.com). This beer pours a light copper/orange color with a pillowy white two-finger head. The head seems to never fade. The aroma is spiced, with light banana and some clove. This beer does not drink like an 11% ABV beer. The mouthfeel is light. Then it has a spiced fruit finish and a stronger aftertaste of alcohol, but not so much that it feels heavy, or it is 11%. I know that it is number one Trippel out there. Yes, I think it is, and I give De Garre an A+. I am glad that I found it after a long time of searching. This beer is lighter than I expected and has perfect trippel flavors. You should absolutely try De Garre if you haven’t had it. I highly recommend it. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Real Ale Brewing Company Devil’s Backbone Belgian-Style Triple

Posted on by Evan

Named for a winding stretch of Hill Country Highway in Texas, Devil’s Backbone from Real Ale Brewing Company (https://realalebrewing.com) in Blanco, Texas, is a Belgian-Style Triple. This beer is 8.1% ABV and uses traditional Belgian brewing methods without increasing the heaviness. I purchased this from Spec’s Wine Spirits and Food (https://specsonline.com). You can also get this beer at H-E-B (https://www.heb.com) and Total Wine and More (https://www.totalwine.com/?gclsrc=aw.ds&&pid=cpc:Brand%2BUS%2BNCAR%2BENG%2BSPART%2BEXT::google::&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=114788005&gclid=CjwKCAjwwqfABhBcEiwAZJjC3pEgvYBUmcUpSoO-xncFI8FFgvznSB1X-jAU5XvMpDZwNswPSTGebxoCIjEQAvD_BwE). This ale pours light copper with a two-finger white head. The aroma is spiced with a bit of clove and light banana. The flavor is semi-sweet with a hint of vanilla, which is uncommon for a Belgian-style Triple. This beer has a spiced banana-like flavor and has a good effervescence. The mouth feel is medium. Then it has a semi-sweet finish with little amounts of spice. The aftertaste of clove and banana lingers a little. I originally had this at a bottle share in Austin, Texas; my father loved it. We ended up coming back to North Carolina with a twelve-pack of cans. This is a good Belgian-style Triple that I give a B+. This is one beer that is worth trying. It has a good flavor that isn’t too heavy. I enjoy this. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly!

Peticolas Brewing Company Thrilla in Brazilla India Pale Ale

Posted on by Evan

A week ago, I was in Dallas, Texas, having lunch at Ten50 BBQ (https://www.ten50bbq.com), which is actually in Richardson, TX. With my BBQ assortment, I had Thrilla in Brazilla, a 7.5% ABV IPA. This is a limited beer produced by Peticolas Brewing Company (www.peticolasbrewing.com/) in Dallas. This American IPA was originally for the 2014 World Cup and was released on June 12th, the first day of match one, Brazil versus Croatia. Then it was re-released for the 2015 Gold Cup and the 2016 Copa America. The food at Ten50 BBQ is good traditional Texas BBQ. The food is served cafeteria style. This IPA pours orange with a two-finger tight white head. The aroma is fruity with some grapefruit and orange. There is bitterness on the nose. The flavor is bitter, fruity, and hoppy. This IPA has a medium feel in the mouth. The finish is bitter and fruity, then there is a hoppy aftertaste with faded semi-sweet fruitiness. This is average, I’d say this is a C. The beer gets more bitter and hoppy as it warms, but that is true with most IPAs. This is neither bad nor really good. It’s an average drinkable IPA. I wouldn’t say ”stay away from this”, but if you have it, it’s not bad to drink. This IPA is not in production at this time. So finding this in the wild might be hard. You can contact the Peticolas Brewing Company. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Vista Brewing Zenith

Posted on by Evan

I purchased Zenith an Oak Aged Petit Saison from Vista Brewing in Driftwood, Texas (http://www.vistabrewingtx.com). This beer is 5.3 ABV and is a collaboration with True Anomaly Brewing in Houston, TX (http://www.trueanomalybrewing.com). This beer uses grisette with a touch of flaked oats, aged for six months in French oak barrels until it reaches its peak. The house cultures come from True Anomaly. I bought this beer will tour the brewery not long ago.

Zenith pours gold straw color with a two finger white head. The aroma is light, funky, fruity, and light on sweetness. The flavor is funk, fruity, (mostly green grape and apples). It does have some light semisweet flavor and is a bit dry, without being too dry. This has a light feeling in the mouth. Then it has a soft funk fruit dry finish. The aftertaste is not sweet as the initial taste, but it is light on fruity with some funky apple. This is a good beer. I give this a B. It is lighter than I was expecting and light on ABV. I would recommend it if you are at Vista Brewing. You can find this beer and other Vista beer at Spec’s (https://specsonline.com) or reach out to the Vista Brewery.

Now Vista Brewing itself is mostly outdoor with a huge acreage of land where the food is farm to table, the tap room and brew house are indoors.

The tour I had was with the same crowed, well almost, from my Belgian beer tour. This tour was with the owner Kent Killough. During the tour be had samples of some of the beer that will be hitting the tap room soon. At the end of the tour we had a nice outdoor dinner. Which was delicious.

We did have a flight of three beers during dinner. They were good. Over all the atmosphere at Vista Brewing was great as were the beer and the people. I highly recommend going there if you in Driftwood, Texas. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Suntory The Premium Malt’s

Posted on by Evan

In the United States, we only have Whiskey from Suntory, and we never see any other products they make. One such product is The Premium Malt’s an all-malt beer from Suntory. This is a 5.5% Pilsner from Suntory Beer Limited in Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan. I had this with my first meal on Japan Airlines. This beer pours a deep gold that is almost copper. The aroma is very malty and has a malt sweetness. The taste is big on the malt flavor. It is a bold malt bomb, with nice smoothness. It tastes like it is one hundred percent malt. This has a medium feel to the mouth. Then it has a malted finish with a sweet malted aftertaste. This pure malt beer is good but loses some of its tasty flavors as it warms. I give this a B-. You need to have this one cold, and yes you should try The Premium Malt’s if you see it. It is good if you are into bold malt-flavored beers, and it goes well with Ramen and other savory Japanese foods. Please stay safe, be kind to each other and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sapporo Brewing Company Premium Yebisu

Posted on by Evan

Premium Yebisu is brewed by Sapporo Brewing Company in Japan. I first had this beer at the Tokyo airport on tap, in a self-pouring multiple-beer machine. You can choose from a few different beers on one tap machine. Then I had it on the plane from Tokyo to JFK in NYC.

This is a 5% ABV malt or Dortmunderc Lager. As far as I know, this beer is only available in Japan; I have not seen it anywhere. It pours deeper gold with a bright two-finger white head. The aroma is sweet from the malts used and a bit bitter. The taste is a little malted with some bitterness. There is less sweetness hitting your taste buds than you get from the aroma. The mouthfeel is light. Then it has a malty bittersweet finish. The aftertaste is pretty bland and unforgettable. I did enjoy this Premium Yebisu, but I think there are better beers, and I give it a high C+. It is good on its own, especially on tap, and slightly better with Japanese foods. If you ever see Premium Yabisu, then I recommend tying it. It is just a maltier version of Sapporo beer. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sapporo Brewing Ginza Lion Beer Hall

Posted on by Evan

In the heart of Ginza Tokyo, Japan is the Sapporo Brewing Lion Beer Hall, located in a building with Nissans, which is worth checking out beforehand. The Lion is upstairs from all the Nissan cars. During lunch, I went with Edelpils, a German-style Pilsner beer. This beer uses Czech Zatsu hops, malted barley, and no adjuncts.

I also ordered the sausage plater with three sausages sauerkraut. Ordering food and drinks was easy once you found the English button on the tablet, then you selected what you wanted and then pressed order, and after a few minutes, it arrived. The Edelpils beer is crisp and refreshing with a light hop note. The sausage platter was delicious. I ordered a second beer, which was a hybrid beer a mix of Premium Yebisu and and Sapporo Reserve Beer. I have had Yebisu twice since then. A review of it will be up soon.

This beer was malty with a light richness. It was good but a little heavier than Edelpis beer. I then ordered a dessert, a strawberry sundae. That was good, as the strawberries in Japan are much better and more delicious than here in the U.S. When you are done you take the card with the table number on it up to the bar and that is how you pay for the meal. This place was similar to what you might find in a traditional German beer hall but with a Japanese touch. I highly recommend The Sapporo Lion Beer Hall. It is a cool and delicious place to visit. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Far Yeast Brewing Hop Frontier Juicy IPA

Posted on by Evan

I still have beers to review from Asia, and this one is Far Yeast Brewing Hop Frontier Juicy IPA. It is 6.3% ABV and comes from Kosuge, Yamanashi, Japan. I had this at the Punch Room at the Tokyo Giza Edition Hotel. This IPA pours gold with a two-finger white head. The aroma is crisp with citrus hop-forward bitterness. The flavor is mild, tropical, hoppy, and floral. This has a medium feel. The finish is mild bitter hops with a citrus flavor. The aftertaste is similar to the finish with bitter citrus. This is good, but I think it needs more body. I’d say Hop Frontier is just an A-… It lacks a bit of body to help the flavors to shine. I would, however, recommend this if you are in the neighborhood. It is worth drinking. Please stay safe be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Yo-Ho Brewing Company Suiyobi no Neko Belgian Style White Ale

Posted on by Evan

This white ale, Suiyoubi no Neko, translates to “Wednesday Cat” in English. It is brewed by Yo-Ho Brewing Company and has a 5% ABV. The meaning of “Wednesday Cat” is to help you get through the mid-week slump. This beer was purchased from the nearby Lawson convenience store. This White Ale pours golden with a bright white two-finger head. The aroma is sweet with citrus and orange peel. It has cloves and banana notes with spice from the coriander. The flavor is pretty similar to the aroma. It is sweet with orange peels and bananas. There is spice from coriander and clove. This has a medium feel to the mouth. This ale finishes with a spice banana and clove. The aftertaste is a little spiced banana. This is good but I think there are better white ale out there. This Suiyoubi no Neko is a B+. This is good and I recommend this ale. If you are in Japan and see this drink it and you will not be disappointed. It is a good representation of a white ale with a nice overall flavor. I would have this again. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!